BY David Oputah
South Korea has reported its first deaths from an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS virus) that has infected 25 people, causing widespread alarm and triggering a closer watch by Asian neighbours on Korean arrivals.
The two deaths, a 58-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man, who both had contact with the country’s first MERS patient, were only the second case of fatalities from MERS in Asia since a man died in Malaysia in April 2014.
According to South Korean officials, at least 19 of the 25 MERS patients in the country had been in medical facilities and were in direct contact with the first patient to be diagnosed with the virus.
Among those sick, five are in unstable condition, while one is critical. The first patient developed symptoms on May 11 and suffered from pneumonia and respiratory difficulty, but is in stable condition.
The outbreak has fuelled public alarm, and online retailers reported a 700 percent surge in sales of face masks over the weekend, as fears of the virus gripped many in South Korea and Asian countries where there are no vaccines, no cures and the fatality rate for the illness is high.
According to Moon Hyung-Pyo, South Korean health minister, more than 700 people who were exposed directly or indirectly to the virus have now been placed under varying levels of quarantine.
“Those who are quarantined must be experiencing a lot of inconvenience in their daily lives, but please closely cooperate for the safety of yourself, your families and your neighbours,” he said.
Moon also urged citizens to wear surgical face masks in public places and to wash their hands frequently to ward off infection.
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